


the siren will remain on (for a while)

by Crykea



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cabin Fic, Communication, Couch Cuddles, Cuddling, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Past Abuse, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28431681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crykea/pseuds/Crykea
Summary: Once they've settled into their temporary life in the cabin, Jon starts to pick up on certain things about Martin. They talk.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 5
Kudos: 114





	the siren will remain on (for a while)

**Author's Note:**

> This one has been on my wip list for so long!! Finally caved and wrote some good healing bfs :)

It didn’t take very long after settling down in Daisy’s cabin before Jon started to pick up on the little things about Martin. 

Small things stuck out to Jon that would have been unnoticeable if he wasn’t watching out for them. When Jon would set a plate down a little too hard on the counter, Martin’s posture would go tense. When Jon would sigh out a breath out of nowhere, Martin’s jaw would tick like he was grinding his teeth. When Jon once slipped up and called him ‘honey’, partially as a joke, he couldn’t miss the way Martin ran his tongue over his teeth as though he was holding himself back from a fight.

It was not necessarily hard to adjust his behaviour, but he was never fully sure what exactly to be watching out for. The night Jon got a cough was the night that a discussion was properly necessitated. Changing the endearments he used for his partner or watching his body language were things Jon could take care of, but there was nothing he could do to make himself stop coughing. They’d been chatting for the majority of the day, finally finding time away from everything to relax. They’d been preoccupied with escaping the Institute for a while and immediately upon settling in, their lives were filled with busywork tasks like cleaning and stocking the cabin with food and supplies. Jon was honestly surprised at how long they were able to talk once they were finally given the time to just sit together.

Martin had made them each a mug of tea as they sat on the dusty old couch across from the fireplace. Jon’s was long since forgotten, still held in his hands tightly but frigid cold. Martin’s mug sat empty on the table, free from his hands as he curled in on himself in laughter at something Jon hadn’t really meant as a joke. It was stupidly endearing. Jon hid his soft smile behind his mug, simply resting the cool ceramic against his lips. A chip in the lip of the cup dug very slightly into his mouth. The room had gotten dark around them with the only light coming from the smattering of dull lamps stored around the room. The bland golden glow looked pretty in Martin’s glasses. Jon blinked lazily at the man across from him. 

“God, our lives are so strange, huh?” Martin said, a smile on his face as he lightly wiped his fingers under his eyes. Jon’s grin widened. His throat hurt from talking so much.

“They’re certainly something, that’s for sure. Strange is one word for it.” Jon’s voice came out in a light croak from overuse and his sentence was punctuated with a single dry cough. As soon as Jon coughed, he narrowed his eyes. Martin’s reaction was a tad concerning. At the sound, the man’s face had dropped and his back had gone perfectly straight. He furrowed his brow and cleared his throat as gently as he could. “Are you… alright?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Why? What’s up?”

“Oh, I just-- I’ve noticed that you, uh--” Jon grimaced and tilted his head, “I just mean that you tend to react to certain things.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Martin said honestly. 

“If you’re uncomfortable, you know you can tell me, right?”

“...Sure?” He seemed genuinely confused. Jon sighed, only distantly registering the way Martin swallowed thickly at the sound. He pointed at Martin.

“That.”

“What?”

“When I sighed,” Jon explained, “You got uncomfortable when I sighed.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say--”

“And you got tense when I was doing the washing up three days ago.”

“Why is this important?” Martin asked, drawing an open palm down his face. Jon shrugged hesitantly, and set down his mug finally, reaching instead for Martin’s hands.

“It’s important because I need you to know that you deserve to be comfortable here. I don’t know what happened, but I am… familiar, let’s say, with some of these signs you’re displaying, and I need you to know you can tell me when or if I make you uncomfortable.” Jon wasn’t entirely sure where any of this was coming from. In a sense, it seemed to him almost like he was channelling Georgie. She’d been the poor soul who had a conversation very similar to the one he was in the process of initiating with Martin. The conversation with Georgie, unfortunately, had not been well received all those years ago at uni, but maybe Martin would be different. The man in question seemed to be zoning out with his eyes locked on Jon’s hands which were still holding Martin’s hands. 

“It’s nothing I can’t get over,” Martin said quietly. “Sorry for ruining the mood.”

“You did no such thing.”

“And you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Martin quirked a challenging eyebrow at him and Jon felt his lips twitch up in spite of his best efforts. “It’s just stuff left over from when I lived with my mum. It’s stupid, but she really ingrained some things in me. I guess.”

Jon hummed, rubbing his thumbs in circles over Martin’s knuckles. “Thank you for telling me. Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to avoid?”

“Oh, I couldn’t just ask you to--” 

“Martin.” Jon levelled him with a Look, “Please answer the question.”

“Geez, touchy. I don’t know, uh,” It was obvious that Martin had never had this kind of conversation before. “Maybe let me know you’re in a room if I don’t see you? I can honestly say that I know what everything is that makes me jumpy, but I guess that would be a good… start.”

“Of course.” Jon cleared his throat into a fist. Martin seemed more prepared this time with the resulting flinch only appearing as a harsh blink. “Sorry, I think I’m losing my voice a bit.”

“Not your fault”

“Not yours either” The two stared at each other from their spots across the couch from each other, both leaning against their own armchair, feet kicked up onto the couch between them. After a moment of eye contact, Martin sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Fair enough.” He said, “Would you like some more tea?” He moved as though starting to stand and Jon let out a small noise causing him to still in his actions. Jon felt his ears heat up at the unintentional sound, but cleared his throat in the new silence, shaking his head.

“Come here?” He said instead, voice quieter than before. He positioned himself against the arm of the chair more solidly, holding out his arms for Martin who raised an eyebrow at him almost as though he was waiting for the punchline of a joke at his expense. “Please? And thank you. For telling me I mean. I’ve, um, been there before and I know it’s-- nevermind, just know I appreciate you trusting me.”

Martin cocked his head to the side, not seeming to fully understand, but he moved slowly forward still. The couch creaked under his slow movement and Jon shot him an impatient look, flexing his open hands at him impatiently. Eventually, Martin sat himself down so that he was kneeling between Jon’s knees and Jon clasped his arms around Martin’s shoulders, holding him close, dragging the fingers of one scarred hand through his pale hair.

“I’m not crushing you am I?” Martin said nervously.

“Relax,” Jon said, grinning slightly. “It’s called a pressure stim and it’s good. Let me hug you.”

“A pressure… whatever okay just let me know if you’re uncomfortable” Martin nuzzled closer, crowding the smaller man against the arm of the couch, echoing his own words from earlier. Jon huffed out a breath against his neck.

“Of course.”


End file.
